Caring for people with multiple chronic conditions in the Netherlands: policy and practices.

 In the Netherlands, chronic illness care is mainly provided in primary care. Because of the comprehensive and coordinating tasks of general practitioners, they play a key role in the management of multimorbidity.  Experiments with integrated care are taking place to improve care delivery, and to stimulate integration of primary care services with hospital care, social and community services.  In addition to disease-specific chronic disease management programmes, experiments with case management for patients with multimorbidity have been initiated.  Recent reforms in long-term care aim to achieve decentralisation and to control costs, resulting in a greater emphasis on patients’ self-management and informal care